European Court of Human Rights condemns Russia over weak probe into Navalny poisoning

By Gizem Taskin Nicollet

PARIS (AA) - The European Court of Human Rights issued a condemnation of Russia on Tuesday, criticizing the country for its inadequate investigation into the poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

The court said Moscow neglected its duty to examine the claims of a potential political motive behind the attempted murder, as well as the potential participation of state agents.

Over the past few years, numerous poison attacks reportedly targeted Kremlin critics. Navalny was subjected to one such attack in Siberia in 2020, where Western laboratory tests indicated the use of a nerve agent.

After undergoing a period of recovery in Germany from nerve agent poisoning, which he accused the Kremlin of orchestrating, Navalny was arrested upon his return to Moscow in 2021.

He is currently serving a sentence of over 11 years on various charges, such as fraud and contempt of court. Human rights groups argue that these charges were fabricated in order to suppress his dissident voice.

German laboratory tests provided "conclusive evidence" of the presence of the chemical nerve agent Novichok in Navalny's body, the court said, and ordered Moscow to pay Navalny €40,000 ($43,000) as a penalty.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations, and as it is no longer party to the European Convention on Human Rights, is very unlikely to pay the fine.

In March 2022 Moscow was expelled from the Council of Europe – the convention’s parent body – after being a member for 26 years, for seriously violating human rights, the rule of law, and fundamental freedoms as a result of its war on Ukraine, which began that February.​​​​​​